Tennessee Heavy Favorite at SEC Tournament, Despite History

ATLANTA (AP) - Bruce Pearl already checked one big thing off his list: Tennessee is the Southeastern Conference champion for the first time in 41 years.

Now comes the SEC tournament, where the fourth-ranked Volunteers are a huge favorite but again find history working against them.

Tennessee hasn't won the event since 1979 - heck, it's been 17 years since the Vols made it as far as the semifinals.

One-and-done has been their motto, which casts a bit of doubt over what is expected to be another coronation for the SEC's best team, the next step in its inevitable march toward a top seed in the NCAA tournament.

The tournament opens today with four games involving teams that finished third or worse in their respective divisions: South Carolina vs. LSU, Auburn vs. No. 18 Vanderbilt, Alabama vs. two-time defending national champion Florida and Georgia vs. Mississippi.

Tennessee, Kentucky, SEC West champion Mississippi State and Arkansas will play their first games Friday.

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